Children's home run by Reflexion Care Group Limited in Shropshire

Inspection report children‟s home: SC366080 1 SC366080 Registered provider: Reflexion Care Group Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is run by a private company. The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children who have learning disabilities and social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Since the last inspection, one child has left the home and one child has moved in. Since July 2019, the home has had a new manager. He was registered by Ofsted in September 2019 and has a level 3 qualification in residential childcare. The manager is enrolled on the level 5 leadership and management course for residential childcare.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 26 November 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC366080 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/11/2018 Full Outstanding 06/03/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 11/10/2017 Full Outstanding 28/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC366080 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure–

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Requirement Due date

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8(1), (2)(a)(i)) 31/01/2020

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure–

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12(1), (2)(a)(i)) 31/01/2020

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that–

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to–

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 31/01/2020 Inspection report children‟s home: SC366080 4 (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b), (2)(h)) The care planning standard is that children–

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure–

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Requirement Due date

that staff help each child to access and contribute to the records kept by the registered person in relation to the child. (Regulation 14(1)(a)(b), (2)(f)) 31/01/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees–

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33(4)(c)) 31/01/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the behaviour management policy”) which sets out–

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it. (Regulation 35(1)(a)(b), (2)) 31/01/2020

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Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards,’ page 15, paragraph 3.9)  It is good practice for a note of the content and/or outcomes of supervision sessions to be kept and to ensure that both the person giving the supervision and staff member have a copy of the record. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.4) Inspection report children‟s home: SC366080 5

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children return home from school, staff are pleased to see them and ask each child about their school day. Staff cook delicious meals from scratch. Mealtimes are social occasions when staff and children enjoy eating their meal together at the dining table. However, some areas of the home are starting to look worn and tired. For example, the showers in the children’s bathrooms show signs of mould and the upstairs hallway needs redecoration and a new carpet to be fitted.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage new children to visit the home and meet the other children before they move in. Children are encouraged to display family photographs, and staff develop positive relationships with children’s parents.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff maintain close links with the schools that the children attend. However, despite this close working, the staff do not always ensure that they obtain an up-to-date copy of all children’s personal education plans and their education, health and care plan. This prevents the staff from having a full understanding of the level of support that the children need with their learning and their social development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children do not always get enough opportunities to contribute to their care plans. This is a missed opportunity to increase children’s participation in their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to meet their health needs. Children are registered with appropriate healthcare services and attend appointments with the support of staff, as required.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

There have been no instances of children going missing from the home since the last inspection. If a child does go missing, the staff follow detailed plans which set out the child‟s „missing‟ protocol. These protocols are shared with the police in the form of trigger plans. As a result, staff are proactive in keeping children safe.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Managers ensure that allegations are referred to the appropriate agencies and are investigated accordingly. This helps to safeguard children and reassures them that their concerns are taken seriously.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff talk to children about the risks from gang culture, criminal exploitation and child sexual exploitation. This helps children to understand the dangers, and the importance of raising concerns.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The home is safely located, and managers’ daily checks ensure that children live in a safe environment.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Managers ensure that staff are recruited safely. This means that only the most suitable Inspection report children‟s home: SC366080 6 adults work with children.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff ensure that risk assessments are in place for each child. However, occasionally these assessments are not brought up to date. This prevents the staff from having the most up-to-date information on any changes in children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager’s monitoring of the quality of care does not always pick up any omissions from records. For instance, the manager has not identified when staff have recorded incidents without enough detail. This means that the manager does not have a clear understanding of staff’s s actions or ability to manage children’s behaviours. The manager does not monitor the content and quality of key-worker sessions to ensure that staff are supporting children as they enter puberty. This means that children do not have essential information about their changing bodies and emotions at a time when they are particularly vulnerable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has not ensured that staff use strategies to promote one child’s positive behaviour. For instance, one child has not been involved in setting goals and incentives to encourage him. He has received more negative consequences for his poor behaviour than praise and encouragement for his positive behaviour. This means that the child is missing out on positive incentives to help him to manage his emotions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has regular supervision, which he finds supportive. However, he has not had an annual appraisal.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff receive regular supervision. These sessions cover safeguarding and whistleblowing. Newer staff have more frequent supervision, yet do not always have dedicated time with their supervisor. Staff supervision sessions are not always recorded in detail. This compromises both the ability of managers to reflect on discussions and also the audit trail to show that staff practice is formally reviewed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Children are cared for by a consistent and stable staff team. Some of the staff have worked at the home for years and know the children well. On the rare occasion that cover staff are used, the manager ensures that they are from a small pool of staff whom the children know and like. This means that children can build relationships with familiar adults. Inspection report children‟s home: SC366080 7

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the children’s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. Inspection report children‟s home: SC366080 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Reflexion Care Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Black Birches, Hadnall, Shrewsbury, Shropshire SY4 3DH

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Inspector

Karen Gillingwater, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC366080 9 achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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